gaudy. >> maybe he should run again. >> he think he's going to. christie, of course, drew plenty of attention in the days leading up to the presidential election as he repeatedly praised and thanked president obama for doing his job in storm recovery. those high approval marks are also sparking new speculation about a potential presidential run for chris christie in 2016. and speaking of that, another possible republican contender is your friend, go ahead -- >> jeb bush. >> yep. he met yesterday with former staffers near the white house where he reportedly entertained questions about his political future. >> according to "the national review," mika, governor bush sat down with a number of veteran florida operatives along with mitt romney's pollsters. he said mr. bush remained coy about making a run for the white house and instead deflected the focus towards his efforts on educational reform. >> potential candidates are lining up for a chance to fill congressman jesse jackson jr.'s house seat after he resigned amid scandal last week. a special election is set for

mid-march but will likely be pushed to april. the son of the famed civil rights leader is currently the target of multiple investigations including one for the alleged misuse of campaign funds. jackson has been out of the public eye since june when he began a leave for what was later disclosed as bipolar disorder. more than a dozen contenders have expressed interest in running for the seat. this morning's "washington post" says private talks between president obama and top republicans including house speaker john boehner are accelerating. but the white house must contend with members of his own party who are pushing back against proposals that significantly reshape entitlement programs like medicare and social security. white house press secretary jay carney said yesterday the president is open to compromise and should republicans make a realistic proposal on taxes, they will meet them halfway. >> math tells us that you can't get the kind of balanced approach that you need without

having rates be part of the equation. we haven't seen a proposal that achieves that, a realistic proposal, that achieves that. the reality is, closing loopholes and ending deductions as an alternative to raising rates on the top earners, top 2%, those making over $250,000, sounds good, but you have to look at the actual contents of those proposals. and a new poll shows the majority of americans do want compromise in order to avoid the fiscal cliff. 67% say a deal should be a combination of spending cuts and tax increases. and if no deal is reached by the end of the year, it's clear who will take the majority of the blame, 45% will say it's the republicans' fault in congress compared to 34% for the president. when it comes to the public's expectations of their elected leaders in washington, two-thirds predict they're going to act like spoiled children. >> oh. >> as opposed to responsible adults. meanwhile, grover norquist

is offering a reminder to republicans in congress who are thinking about breaking their anti-tax pledge in order to reach a deal. >> we could ask president bush, george herbert walker bush, how his second term went after he broke his pledge. did he damage the pledge, or did by breaking his pledge, he lost a second term for the presidency because he had not kept his word with the american people? >> at some point they need to let him go. new york governor andrew cuomo is making his case for federal aid in the aftermath of hurricane sandy. governor cuomo said the storm could cost the state nearly $42 billion, and new yorkers would need federal help footing the bill. while acknowledging that more people died during hurricane katrina in 2005, the governor said that sandy's damage was actually more widespread. >> when you look at the number of homes and businesses affected, this storm affected many, many more people in places than katrina.

and arguably, therefore, this created more housing and economic damage than katrina. new jersey which suffered massive damage to its transit system and coastline estimates that it nearly has $30 billion in damage. u.n. ambassador susan rice is heading to capitol hill today to meet with some of her toughest republican critics and answer questions about the september 11th attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. rice will sit down with senators john mccain, lindsey graham, and kelly ayotte. >> that should be fun. >> that could be really awkward. they all accuse her of misleading the country in her initial account of the attack. in recent days, senator mccain has softened his criticism, and rice insists that she was relying on talking points from the intelligence community. last night senator graham rejected her defense but says he's open to today's meeting. >> she asked to meet with us, and i will listen to what she has to say about her role in

benghazi, but i can tell you this. the more i know about benghazi, the more upset i am that the consulate was even open on september 11th. when you look at the history and the reporting coming out of libya about the dangers, it should never have been open or heavily reinforced. after the attack, i think the story we were told about a spontaneous event caused by video where a mob turned into a riot is less credible than ever. >> smart of her to call the meeting. acting cia director michael morrell will accompany rice during today's meeting, fueling speculation that the ambassador is topping president obama's list to replace secretary of state clinton. some say the president could announce his choice this week. >> i'm still holding out. i think it may be jill kelley who gets the nod. a new report says the assad regime received help from russia as international sanctions are beginning to cripple the syrian economy. eight round-trip flights between

moscow and damascus delivering more than 200 tons of, quote, bank notes into syria. u.s. and european sanctions include a ban on syrian currency in an attempt to slow the violence that's killed thousands of people. syria and russian officials have so far not responded to the reports. overseas tens of thousands are rallying today in cairo's tahrir square protesting what they view as a blatant power grab by president mohamed horsey. with tensions mounting yesterday, morsi appeared to soften his controversial attempt to award himself near absolute power above the reach of the law. in a vaguely worded statement, morsi spokesman backtracked slightly saying that only acts of sovereignty would be immune from oversight. well, u.s. consumers went big this weekend for small business saturday. millions of holiday shoppers spent a total of $5.5 billion during the third annual local business shopping event. mika spent half of that in the

south of france. and that's not even counted in that tally. for more on the holiday shopping season and the impact on the economy, let's go right now to cnbc's steve sedwood live in london with us. steve, what's it looking like over there? >> it's looking pretty good. i haven't even started my holiday season shopping. i'll leave that right till the last moment. what is really fascinating is every single survey i've been reading about the whole thanksgiving holiday weekend has been positive about spending in the u.s. why is it so important? it's important because 70% of the u.s. economy is centered around consumer spending. so it's absolutely key. now, we're used to black friday spending. and that was good this year. it was up about 12.8% to 59 billion u.s. dollars. we know about cyber monday as well. when everyone goes back to work, apparently goes back to work and sneaks onto their computer and continues to spend the likes of amazon and ebay were doing very well. as indeed walmart who's had a cracking holiday season so far. what is less well known is the

small business saturday. this thing's only been going about three years. in every single state, it had a real rubber stamping from authorities to try and get people spending in what is the backbone of the u.s. economy, i.e., small businesses. well, the initial surveys are very good. small business saturday has pretty much doubled from the last couple of weeks from 34% to 67%. and as you mentioned there, the spending has gone up as well. spending slightly more than people expected going into this. 5.5 billion u.s. dollars as well. so that is incredibly good news for the small businesses. but as i say, across the board so far, spending has been very good. and why is this period so important? because around about 50% of profits for u.s. retailers come in the november and december period. so what they need to do now is keep that momentum going. back to you guys. >> steve sedgwick live from london. >> 50%. holy cow. >> let us know why you're awake at this ungodly, horrific hour. >> there's something wrong with you. >> shoot us an e-mail or tweet us @joenbc or @morningmika.

still ahead on "way too early," the eagles prove they don't really need michael vick to lose a football game. highlights from philly's monday night mess ahead in sports. it's ugly. plus -- >> please stop watching "two and a half men." i'm on "two and a half men." i don't want to be on it. >> you know, first charlie sheen, now this controversy finds its way back into the set of "two and a half men" as one of the lead actors calls the show "filth." >> it is, actually. >> telling viewers not to watch. it's not filth. >> no, i have seen it. i saw it once. it was complete filth. >> this is good, clean entertainment. i believe this is what will save western civilization. put it on a loop 24 hours a day. when you're done with that, watch "way too early," then "morning joe." we shall return. we'll have a check on weather, too. >> do we call it that? it's bill karins. it's not necessarily accurate, but it's funny. we'll be right back. >> we'll be back doing something.

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before any planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto®, tell your doctor about any conditions, such as kidney, liver or bleeding problems. ready to change your routine? ask your doctor about once-a-day xarelto®. for more information including cost support options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. welcome back to "way too early." >> that's so pretty. >> as you take a look at the soon-to-be-beautiful commerce tree. >> it's being lit tomorrow. >> the comcast commerce tree is going to be lit tomorrow night. it's going to be very exciting. right now hey, husbands, hide your housewives because it's time to get a check on weather from nbc meteorologist bill karins. broadway bill. >> i've been known to cause a little tension in the household. >> you're a groper.

>> a groper? >> i mean, that's what they call you at hr. >> chronic. let's be honest. chronic. >> c.g. >> c.g. great, there's my new nickname. that was fun. >> actually -- >> could we have the weather? >> it's not new. >> i've known you for five ye years, and you've been always -- >> all right, let's go. >> the grabber. >> today, snow, just a little bit. not going to cause huge issues, but if you are flying today, the airports of new york city, philadelphia, down to d.c., it will come through as we go throughout the daylight hours today. again, visibility will be low enough for minor airport delays. the roads should be okay in the big cities. you can already see on the radar the rain's starting to come down pretty good now in maryland. the snow through pennsylvania. pennsylvania turnpike could have minor issues. now we're going to watch that snow starting to fall in northwest jersey and eventually into areas like new york city and southern connecticut. again, only one or two inches. a lot of the roads will be fine. secondary roads, higher

elevations, you'll probably have to drive home in some of the slippery stuff today. temperatures dropping through the day as we get some of that snow falling. washington, d.c., and maryland again, for you, is primarily just going to be rain. as far as the rest of the forecast goes, down towards joe's country, we're going to watch some thunderstorms rolling through areas of florida, georgia, alabama and mississippi as we go throughout this morning. so bring the umbrella. expect a good half-hour to 45 minutes of downpours. northern plains, very cold once again from kansas city to st. louis. right up through chicago. so the forecast in the middle of the country, it will be a nice afternoon. west coast, one last dry day before a big rainstorm for you starts tomorrow. again, guys, just a little bit of snow in areas like new york city and philadelphia today. minor travel trouble. nothing compared to that nor'easter a couple weeks ago. >> see you, c.g. >> how warm is it in san diego today? >> san diego will be sunny and beautiful in the 60s, low 70s. >> yeah. i'm thinking we need to do the show i think in san diego at least through march. >> i'm game. >> in march? all right. very good. listen, we'll talk to your

parole officer and see if we can't get you out to california with us. we'd love to have you there. how bad, bill, are the eagles? >> the eagles -- >> how bad with the eagles? >> they can get a good draft pick, maybe matt barkley. >> they need to keep losing. guess what? they did just that last night. the eagles were trying to avoid their seventh straight game at home where they lost. and last night, they went against the panthers. speaking of the first quarter, cam newton drops back, play-action pass, throws a strike to brandon lafell who doesn't have a defender within five yards of him. lafell will coast for the touchdown. panthers go up 14-3. fourth quarter, panthers up by two. cam newton seals up the win with a two-yard run. the panthers go on to win 30-22, the eagles haven't won a game since september the 30th. they fall to 3-8 on the year. and after his team's seventh straight loss, coach andy reid said after the game, he's not spoken to the eagles' ownership about the future with the team. and you know what, mika? he might as well not.

i don't think he's going to be back in philadelphia next year. >> more news from the nfl, lions' defensive tackle ndamukong suh won't be suspended for kicking texans' quarterback matt schaub in the groin during the lions' loss to the texans on thanksgiving day. >> you can tell, he hits the ground, it's just a twitch. >> who does that? oops. following an official review of the incident, the league rules that suh's actions didn't warrant suspension, but they're still considering whether to fine him. schaub told a houston radio station yesterday that he would never want to be suh's teammate saying quote, you don't want a player like that. the stuff he hands for and the type of player he is, that's not houston texan worthy. suh has been fined four times and suspended two games. a big showdown in the tri-state area. the new york knicks traveled across the east river to take on the nets in brooklyn. second quarter, deron williams dishes to gerald wallace who elevates for a big slam dunk.

that would give the nets the lead. this one was back and forth all night. jay-z and beyonce would watch the game go into overtime. 2:30 in overtime. jerry stackhouse off the line. wallace corrals it in, drives to the hoop and lays it in. the nets go on to win, 96-89. the knicks and nets now share identical 9-4 records on the season. i tell what you, this, mika, is going to be -- it's just going to be a great rivalry for years to come. >> it will be fun to watch. >> you know what's not great? >> what? >> pretty boy lou. >> and c.g. coming up at the top of the hour, ambassador susan rice heads to capitol hill to meet her critics face to face. will senator mccain and the republicans blink first? we'll discuss that with the president on the council on foreign relations, richard houshous haass. a lead actor tells fans to stop watching the show, that

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oh, my god, that one. okay. >> hey, enough of the real news. let's huddle -- can you believe

he did that? >> i think that you're -- are you all right this morning? i don't think you're well. >> we're talking about the best of t.j. >> speaking of not well. >> about ten years. boy, we have some stories to tell. we'll do it right after this. let's go over to the water cooler with sweet lou. hey, pretty boy, what do you have for us today? >> thanks, joe. it's time to gather around the water cooler to watch "two and a half men" star angus t. jones to trash the very show that made him rich and famous. you know him, he's played jake on the show for the last 19 years. he's a seventh day adventist christian and calls the show, quote, filth. >> it is. >> he asked fans to stop watching the show. >> jake from "two and a half men" means nothing. he is a nonexistent character. he's -- "two and a half men," if you watch "two and a half men," please stop watching. i'm on "two and a half men." i don't want to be on it. please stop watching. please stop filling your head with filth, please. you cannot be a true god-fearing

person and be on a television show like that. i know i can't. i'm not okay with what i'm learning, what the bible says, and being on that television show. >> first charlie sheen and now this, this is bad. this is bad. despite his views, jones still has another year left in his contract, one of hollywood's highest paid teens, reportedly making $350,000 per episode, nearly $8 million per season. >> i don't know what that's about, but i will say, i caught five minutes of the show, and it's filthy. >> it's great, isn't it? >> no, it was disgusting. there were people in bed together like five minutes before and it was a terrible example for kids. >> a great example for our kids. >> it's unfortunate that it's taken a turn this way. i have something more important. >> wait. why is it unfortunate? have you ever seen that show? do you know anybody who's ever seen that show? >> i only used to watch it because of charlie sheen.

he's not on it anymore so i have no interest. >> don't hate on ashton. ashton's pretty good. >> i haven't seen it. i want to get to the next clip. >> the show's not filthy. >> will you stop interrupting him? >> i think those are the sort of values. >> you can be quiet now. shush. >> i know that you guys have seen this ad. i'm a big fan of brad pitt. >> come on. >> he started to do these chanel number 5 ads. people kind of think that they're okay, but i think there's been some criticism and some parody. let's take a look at the ad. >> you turn with it. plans disappear. dreams take over. but wherever i go, there you are. my luck, my fate, my fortune. chanel number 5. >> what's going on? >> inevitable. >> what's he doing? >> they said have you seen any of the criticism or any of the parody on "snl"?

he said no, i haven't seen any criticism, but he liked the off-the-wall kind of feel of the ad and respect it had. >> i like the check and the attention because those are the worst things i've ever seen in my life. >> what's he doing? >> i don't know. he doesn't need to do that. >> i thought this was a guy that was in "fight club"! >> come on, it's brad pitt. everyone's obsessed with him. if people are obsessed -- >> he was in "fight club"! >> it's a midlife crisis. >> he was in "oceans eleven," "oceans twelve." >> he wants to still look young, he's got that long hair. >> you know what they would say? what are you doing, kid? you had it all. what are you doing? still ahead on "way too early," why are you awake? >> what the hell is wrong with you? >> your tweets and e-mails are next. "morning joe" is now moments away. or geico...as most of you know members it.congress. ...i propose savings for everyone!

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follow suit. >> oh, teal. what else? >> c. glass on twitter. we got this about 20 minutes before the show started. >> oh, good, getting ready. >> time to shut things down and get sleep. if not, if i don't, joe scarborough may end up on my tv and that can't happen. >> hate it when that happens. "morning joe" starts right now. so the fighting began last week when hamas launched hundreds of rockets at israel, which were, i guess, in retaliation for israel killing the head of hamas's military, which was retaliation for hamas holding an israeli soldier hostage for five years, which might have been retaliation, which was in retaliation from what i heard is -- let's go back to when this thing first started. ♪